Montana’s relationship to Americana music is as wide and deep as the famed Missouri River that inspired countless musicians seated at its shores. From the fiddling of Pierre Cruzatte and George Gibson in the Corps of Discovery to the modern-day loner folk of Joey Running Crane and Cameron Boster, the Treasure State inspires the production of top-notch country music. In the 1950s, bands like the Snake River Outlaws fostered a long-standing love of hillbilly honky-tonk, and in the 1970s, the Mission Mountain Wood Band added a homegrown flavor of its own. Contemporary acts like the Lil’ Smokies and songwriter Martha Scanlan promise a vibrant future for the local sound. Author and musician Aaron Parrett explores this history to show what it means to boot stomp in Big Sky Country.